NFL Preview: Week Nine

The midway point of the 2008 NFL season is here as we enter Week Nine. By my calculations, while Week Nine serves as the unofficial halfway mark, we'll have 128 games down and 128 to go as of the conclusion of this Sunday's 4:00 PM games.

What a way to start the second half, with the most heated rivalry of the 2000s, as New England visits Indianapolis. We only have two more weeks of byes, so fantasy owners, rejoice. This week, Mike Singletary will get to find his pants and kiss and makeup with Vernon Davis, as the 'Niners join the Saints, Panthers, and Chargers on the sidelines. Week 10's bye teams are Dallas, Washington, Cincinnati, and Tampa Bay.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Steelers at Redskins (Monday night)

A mini-rant here: I see where ESPN is going to interview Senators McCain and Obama on the eve of the 2008 Presidential election (which is FINALLY almost over) during Monday night's game, which ironically is in DC.

Someone tell ESPN that sports and politics are like oil and water, and if I wanted to hear these two make a last minute pitch to the American public, I'd turn on CNN and not Monday Night Football.

Anyways, this is a heavyweight showdown. Pittsburgh had the Giants on the ropes last week before having some issues on defense and special teams in the fourth quarter.

They get another tough NFC East opponent in Washington, a team that struggled with the Lions before ultimately pulling out the victory. Both defenses are amongst the best in the league, but the real question will be if the Steelers can slow down a very strong Redskins offense, which has turned into a dual threat between Clinton Portis' legs and Jason Campbell's arm.

I really do not know which to pick in this game, but considering the fact that Washington has been somewhat sluggish the past few games, I have to go with the Steelers.

OTHER TOP GAMES

Jets at Bills

I don't think many people were expecting a whole lot of exciting intradivision AFC East games this year, but between now and the end of December, we will have several.

Buffalo turned the ball over four times in the final frame against Miami last week, and as a result, there are probably some people out there starting to doubt if they can reign over the Jets and Patriots. I look for them to get back on track in this game.

The Jets' pass defense is in the bottom third of the league, so Trent Edwards should have no problem finding Lee Evans and the secondary receivers through the air. Buffalo is a sound defensive team (albeit a little banged up right now), so Brett Favre will have to play mistake-free football.

He has taken a beating in his comeback attempt, and you have to wonder how much more his 39-year old body can take. This game is really a toss-up, but I have to give a slight edge to the Bills at home. Last week's performance was a fluke, and I still believe this is one of the three or four best teams in the AFC.

Packers at Titans

Important question: How long do the Titans have to stay undefeated until we start hearing from has-been Mercury Morris about the 1972 Dolphins? I'll tell you this: I've always liked and respected Jeff Fisher, and if anyone deserves to have a 16-0 season, it is this guy.

But not if it means hearing from Morris again this year. But let's not jump ahead of ourselves. A lot of teams have started 7-0 and come nowhere close to winning every regular-season game. As for the near-term future, the Titans have an intriguing game with a rested Packers squad.

Tennessee's style of football suits Green Bay's defensive weaknesses. The Packers cannot stop the run, and you know the Titans want to play a ball-control game with RB Chris Johnson.

Prior to the bye week, the Packers had a hard time deciding if they wanted to be a contender or pretender. They will have to play a perfect game if they want to fly home with an upset victory, so hopefully Mike McCarthy and his staff have been up to the challenge with an extra week to prepare for this game.

Cowboys at Giants

The Dallas defense finally stepped up to the occasion last week, but that was against the Buccaneers' offense. Eli Manning and company can sling it around a little more, so it will be interesting to see what Wade Phillips has in store, especially with it being likely that two rookies will be starting at cornerback.

Offensively, Dallas will once again be at the mercy of Brad Johnson's decision-making. He has to do a better job of getting T.O. and Roy Williams involved, otherwise it will be a long day. After all, Jason Witten's status for this game is up in the air.

Desperation mode probably has not set in yet for the Cowboys (although I challenge that it should have weeks ago), since they will be in a good position at 5-4 after the bye week and will have Romo returning to the lineup.

But falling two-and-a-half games behind the Giants this early in the season would be disheartening for a team predicted to run away with the NFC East. The Cowboys face an uphill climb if they wish to pull off the upset, although if Romo was playing, this would be the week's top game by far (sigh...).

Patriots at Colts (Sunday night)

This rivalry game does not have the magnitude that it usually does, seeing how Tom Brady is injured, and for a change, neither team is in sole possession of first place in their division. But it is still Patriots vs. Colts and Bill Belichick vs. Tony Dungy after all.

New England seems to be getting on a roll, and Matt Cassel has been playing better. He should have an excellent chance of exploiting a questionable Colts' secondary. The offense will certainly be able to be two-dimensional, as the Colts' run defense is not the best either. Peyton Manning still can throw with the best of them, and the Patriots' secondary is vulnerable without Rodney Harrison back there for the rest of the season.

He should have a big game.

This one will come down to if the Colts' defense can step up to the challenge and pick up a must-win in my opinion. Bob Sanders and Joseph Addai are potentially returning from injury, so if the unit can force a few mistakes by Cassel, and he has been prone to them at times, they very well could win this game.

AND THE REST

Lions at Bears

Chicago spanked the Lions in the Motor City four weeks ago, and now they get to face one of the NFL's two winless teams at Soldier Field. Obviously, the Bears are heavy favorites to move to 5-3 and at least remain in a tie for the division lead with Green Bay.

Detroit played well against Washington, but they still have a zero in that W column. Let's see if they can use last week's performance to their advantage and make this a game.

Jaguars at Bengals

I don't think too many people saw Cleveland going into Jacksonville and taking down the Jaguars. Now, the Bengals will probably pay the price. Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor will be fed a steady dose of the football against a soft defense, although the Jags' run offense has suffered at times this year.

David Garrard is more than capable of tearing apart the Cincinnati secondary. With Carson Palmer still out, 0-9 looks like it's all but a done deal for the Bungles.

Ravens at Browns

Cleveland's defense was much maligned last year and through the early part of 2008, but in recent weeks, against the Giants and Jaguars, the unit has stepped up and led the team to victory.

At 3-4 and two games behind Pittsburgh, do not count out the Browns just yet. One of their four defeats came at the hands of a Baltimore team that serves as the meat on the sandwich between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in the AFC North. Even a decade plus after their move out of the Forest City, there is still some animosity any time the Ravens come to the Dawg Pound.

Buccaneers at Chiefs

Tampa Bay's two-headed monster of a running game was stuffed by Dallas, but they should easily get back on track against the Chiefs. This team cannot win ball games if Jeff Garcia has to shoulder the load each week.

As for Kansas City, maybe I was wrong about Tyler Thigpen. He got into a nice rhythm last week with Dwayne Bowe and kept them in the game with the Jets down to the wire. Let's see if he has another strong performance.

Texans at Vikings

Houston is suddenly in a three-way tie for second in the AFC South, but they will have to continue the momentum built during four consecutive home games on the road in their first game outside of Reliant Stadium in over a month.

Minnesota will certainly be a worthy opponent, considering the Texans will have to stop Adrian Peterson and find a way to move the ball through the air (good luck having success running the ball against the Williams' duo on the Vikings' D-line). That shouldn't be a problem, because Andre Johnson is quietly putting together a great season at receiver.

Cardinals at Rams

Arizona currently holds a two-game lead in the NFC West, and the way things are going for everyone else, a win in this contest would clearly put them in the driver's seat (although Seattle cannot be counted out, assuming they stay afloat until Hasselbeck comes back). But it won't be easy against a St. Louis team that has looked a lot better since Jim Haslett took over the head-coaching reigns.

Dolphins at Broncos

Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams have to be licking their chops as they face a Broncos' run defense that is amongst the worst in the league. But then again, maybe Mike Shanahan was able to use his coaching smarts to make some adjustments during the bye week. Miami is 3-4, and in the tough AFC East, does not really have much of a shot at the playoffs. But this is still one of the league's most improved teams in 2008.

Falcons at Raiders

This will be a matchup of the top quarterback taken in each of the past two drafts, and to date, rookie Matt Ryan is further along in his development than second-year signal caller JaMarcus Russell. But Russell has been more of a game manager than a game changer at this point, and I think Tom Cable will have to loosen the strings eventually. Now is a great time to start, against a suspect Atlanta secondary.

Eagles at Seahawks

Usually, Qwest Field provides one of, if not, the best home-field advantage in the league. However, Seattle is 1-2 there this season. The trip across the country has proven to be difficult for East and West Coast teams alike, but the Eagles did win soundly in San Francisco a few weeks back.

Without Matt Hasselbeck in the lineup, Seattle's offense will be limited behind Seneca Wallace. While they did put up 34 points against the 49ers a week ago, they only managed 261 yards.